It was 23-degrees Fahrenheit when I took these photos. The leaves open up when the sun warms them.

Here’s a little bit of reading on this thermotropic phenomenon. Interestingly, it’s an indicator of leaf temperature, not the air temperature. A good explanation for why the leaves relax in sunlight, despite the persistence of low air temperature.

Do you pay attention to rhododendron leaf curling? What other plant phenomenon do you find interesting?

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The soil biota may affect human health. A 2007 study by Christopher Lowry and Graham Rook suggests a reason why gardening feels so good: a bacterium naturally found in soil, Mycobacterium vaccae, stimulates the human immune system to release serotonin. This hormone is used in antidepressants increase feelings of well-being. Some scientists even believe that our ever-increasing desire for cleanliness and our distance from farming activities are leading to health problems such as asthma and allergies. Perhaps doctors will prescribe gardening for a healthy life.

-Sarah Hayden Reichard, The Conscientious Gardener.

Now I won’t feel awkward when I show up somewhere with dirt under my nails. You know the kind, that dirt that stains your hands and refuses to be scrubbed away.

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I have two small children, and I involve them in the garden as much as I can. Aside from letting my four-year-old pore over seed catalogs with me and giving him projects that involve dirt, I keep it simple. Have fun, make it part of the everyday, and good food will come naturally.

One everyday thing I like to do is make homemade baby food. Even if the food didn’t come from our garden, it’s still an easy everyday thing. Or every other day. Once per week?

We’re busy and both work full-time, and aren’t shy about cracking open a store-bought jar of organic peas or squash and lentils. But, if there’s time, breaking out the blender is an easy option.

I pick simple fruits and vegetables to make into baby food. If you have a steamer and blender, you can make baby food. You don’t even need those things. A pot, some water, and a fork will do.

Peel it. Compost it.

Steam it.

Blend it. Add a little cooking water from the steam pot.

Like velvet!

One medium sweet potato yields 11 oz. of baby food.

If you’re keeping track of costs, that’s about $3 worth of store-bought baby food jars for the price of one potato (approximately $1.30).

Not only is it cost-efficient, but I can guarantee the ingredients, including whether it’s organic. When it’s food I’m growing, I can also guarantee the source.

Bigger batches can be frozen, and smaller batches can live in the refrigerator in small containers or recycled baby food jars. Our daycare loves it, too.

Do you make your own baby food? How do you involve children in good food?